NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. (July 5, 2005) — Attendees of a recent Niagara Falls meeting of the Canadian Society of Customs Brokers (CSCB) were told that the customs broker community must be prepared to expedite truck shipments efficiently or face mounting pressure from their customers to shape up or ship out.

Ontario Trucking Association Vice-President Stephen Laskowski told the audience of customs brokers that historically communication between shippers, custom brokers and carriers was poor and caused inefficiencies at the border including trucks being unnecessarily referred to secondary or a customs broker.

Laskowski emphasized that while some of the causes for these problems reside in the trucking industry, custom brokers with poorly trained staff, limited office hours or poor communication devices need to improve or get out of the business.

CSCB members learned of the driver shortage facing the trucking industry and how inefficiencies at the border put an added strain on trucking companies to meet logistical demands of their customers and reduce the time drivers can operate on US and Canadian highways.

OTA has been advising Ontario shippers that they need to stop treating the selection of their customs broker as a commodity – an efficient customs broker can expedite freight over the border and reduce the likelihood of surcharges.